Alexa Levesque
EDC 102H
9/19/12
Outside Influences
Although many would argue that the most influential people in a person’s academic career are teachers, I believe that a large part of one’s academic experience stems from their family. In my own personal experience, my mother really helped to shape my academic life through her support. Even more than her support, my mom knew what I was capable of, and made sure that I reached my potential in every aspect of my early academics, creating a drive to succeed that is still with me today.
My mother however, never punished me for doing poorly as long as she knew that I had done everything that I could. With this, I was never afraid to go to her for help, or if I was doing poorly in a class. My mom was my biggest encourager, and it was expected that I would take the most difficult classes that my schools offered, and when I did, she always understood my heavy workload and stress.
Since doing well in school was never seen as an option to me, there was never any question of how hard I would work to succeed. Self-sufficiency also contributed to my success, and this is another strength that I could not have developed without my mother. From a young age, I was always expected to do all of my schoolwork on my own. Though my mom would occasionally type long reports when I was younger and lacked keyboarding skills, all of the work and research for projects and homework was completed on my own. This also went for science projects (which may explain why I never won any prizes);this did however create a sense of responsibility to complete all of my own work and take pride in everything that I presented.
Though this more hands-off approach may very well prove disastrous for some children, it offered me just the right amount of independence to manage my own time, and complete all of my work on my own and without a monitor. This would prove to be valuable as I advanced in school and sports took a much larger role in my life; I would have to balance AP coursework along with leading a team, and many nights I would not get home until ten o’clock at night. When I returned late, my mom would always have food and encouraging words waiting, as I began many a sleep-deprived evening delving into 7 different subjects.
To me, my mom’s encouragement and high expectations helped me more than doing a project for me ever would have. In the long run, she instilled a sense of independence and self-sufficiency that has proved valuable even when up against peers whose parents were more equipped to explain Calculus or Chemistry. What she has given me is the ability work on my own and accomplish goals without being monitored, but still expected to succeed to the best of my ability. My mother has, maybe unintentionally, handed down the drive to succeed and to never accept failure, however even more she has taught me how to work when no one is watching.
EDC 102H
9/19/12
Outside Influences
Although many would argue that the most influential people in a person’s academic career are teachers, I believe that a large part of one’s academic experience stems from their family. In my own personal experience, my mother really helped to shape my academic life through her support. Even more than her support, my mom knew what I was capable of, and made sure that I reached my potential in every aspect of my early academics, creating a drive to succeed that is still with me today.
My mother however, never punished me for doing poorly as long as she knew that I had done everything that I could. With this, I was never afraid to go to her for help, or if I was doing poorly in a class. My mom was my biggest encourager, and it was expected that I would take the most difficult classes that my schools offered, and when I did, she always understood my heavy workload and stress.
Since doing well in school was never seen as an option to me, there was never any question of how hard I would work to succeed. Self-sufficiency also contributed to my success, and this is another strength that I could not have developed without my mother. From a young age, I was always expected to do all of my schoolwork on my own. Though my mom would occasionally type long reports when I was younger and lacked keyboarding skills, all of the work and research for projects and homework was completed on my own. This also went for science projects (which may explain why I never won any prizes); this did however create a sense of responsibility to complete all of my own work and take pride in everything that I presented.
Though this more hands-off approach may very well prove disastrous for some children, it offered me just the right amount of independence to manage my own time, and complete all of my work on my own and without a monitor. This would prove to be valuable as I advanced in school and sports took a much larger role in my life; I would have to balance AP coursework along with leading a team, and many nights I would not get home until ten o’clock at night. When I returned late, my mom would always have food and encouraging words waiting, as I began many a sleep-deprived evening delving into 7 different subjects.
To me, my mom’s encouragement and high expectations helped me more than doing a project for me ever would have. In the long run, she instilled a sense of independence and self-sufficiency that has proved valuable even when up against peers whose parents were more equipped to explain Calculus or Chemistry. What she has given me is the ability work on my own and accomplish goals without being monitored, but still expected to succeed to the best of my ability. My mother has, maybe unintentionally, handed down the drive to succeed and to never accept failure, however even more she has taught me how to work when no one is watching.